New York State Adjutant General's Office Abstracts of Muster Rolls for National Guard Units Mustered into Federal Service…

Arranged by military unit and therein alphabetical by name.

The Mexican Punitive Campaign (1916-1917) was undertaken by the United States Army by order of President Woodrow Wilson during the Mexican Revolution. The campaign, which was staged in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, was precipitated by an attack on the U.S. cavalry garrison at Columbus, Mexico, on March 9, 1916 by revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa. The expedition, led by General John J. Pershing, failed in its attempt to capture Villa but succeeded in dispersing his followers.

Additional information relating to the role and activities of the New York State National Guard in this campaign can be found in The Annual Report of The Adjutant General of the State of New York For The Year 1916, J.B. Lyon Company, Albany, 1917 (available at the New York State Library).

This series consists of bound volumes of abstracts of muster rolls of New York National Guardsmen who were mustered into federal service during the Mexican Punitive Campaign.

The governor, designated by all New York State Constitutions as commander-in-chief of the State's armed forces, was authorized to appoint an adjutant general by the constitutions of 1821 and 1846 to supervise the militia and all military establishments of the State. In 1862 (Chapter 477) the organized militia was officially designated as the National Guard of the State of New York. These records were created by the Adjutant General's Office to document the military service of individual members of the New York State National Guard who served in what is known as the Mexican Border Campaign of 1916.

Each abstract consists of one page, with printed headings and manuscript information grouped under three sections. The first section contains: name; age; date of enlistment or commission; home station (e.g. Peekskill, N.Y. or Buffalo, N.Y.); date mustered into federal service; grade; and company and regiment.

The second section contains information on how, when, and in what grade the individual left the organization and an explanation for the departure (e.g. transferred or mustered out). This section is sometimes blank.

Information in the third section is frequently brief and sometimes not supplied. It includes remarks (e.g. dates of promotions, absences, sicknesses, character, fines, courts-martial, confinements to guard house or hospital, furloughs, forfeitures of pay, case numbers, dates of enlistments, and dates of expired enlistments); age; physical description (height, complexion, eyes, hair); place of birth; occupation; residence; marital status; and name, relationship, and address of next of kin.

Microfilm is available at the New York State Archives.

The entire series is digitized and is available to New York State residents for free on Ancestry.com New York. You must sign up for a free account to access these records without a paid subscription. To learn more, go to How to Use Ancestry.com New York

A3167 Historical research working files (of the State Historian), contains a small number of photographs from the campaign.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.